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Thursday July 4, 2013 6:48 AM

MIAMI -- The U.S. federal court has no jurisdiction and no legal basis to intervene in the
force-feeding of prisoners at the Guantanamo naval base, the Obama administration argued in a court
document yesterday.

Additionally, the Justice Department said, the force-feeding will not compromise prisoners’
religious rights because it will be done only at night during Ramadan, the holy month when Muslims
fast from sunup to sundown.

Attorneys for four Guantanamo prisoners have asked the U.S. District Court in Washington to halt
the force-feeding of Guantanamo prisoners, most of whom have waged a hunger strike for months to
protest their indefinite detention. The lawyers argued that the procedure is painful, humiliating
and violates international law.

It was unclear when the court would rule, but the prisoners’ attorneys asked for a decision
before Ramadan starts on Monday.